Giants' Pascoe fills in well wherever he's needed

ARLINGTON, Texas - Bear Pascoe has a knack for being the last available option, then taking advantage of it.

That career course began with the Giants in training camp during the summer, when he first caught the eye of Tom Coughlin and the coaching staff as the only healthy tight end on the 80-man roster. He trudged through practice after practice without complaint.

Then came the surprise that he had not made the final cut and would be signed to the practice squad. Pascoe, a second-year player, seemed resigned to his lot. But in the opening game, not only did tight end Kevin Boss suffer a concussion but Will Beatty, the sixth offensive lineman who often lined up at tight end, broke a bone in his foot. Pascoe was elevated to the 53-man roster and played in Week 2 against the Colts.

Just as Boss came back and Pascoe's services no longer seemed necessary, though, Madison Hedgecock had to leave the Bears game with a hamstring injury. The Giants carry only one fullback, and with no one else to plop into the position, they turned to Pascoe.

"Bear is going to give you everything he's got," Coughlin said after Pascoe first spelled Hedgecock against the Bears. "He's going to know what to do, adapt on the fly. He's going to be the right guy in the right place at the right time. He allowed us to continue to play in a style that we might not have had if it weren't for the fact that he's here."

Last night, Pascoe started his third straight game as the fullback, paving the way for Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. Last week against Detroit, Pascoe escorted Jacobs into the end zone on a 4-yard touchdown run and had the key block on Bradshaw's 45-yard run.

"Bear made a great block and sprung me forward," Bradshaw said. "I just wanted to hit it as hard as I could, and I was able to catch the edge of the safety and get rolling."

"Bear Pascoe has been doing a tremendous job for us," Jacobs added. "He goes in there and lays it on the line and gives us all he has. Bear has been doing that, and Bear has been a tremendous asset for us in the ring. He's been doing very well."

Pascoe not only has become a good blocker out of the backfield but gives the Giants a new wrinkle at the position. He caught two passes against the Lions, one for a key first down.

"I'm enjoying the heck out of it, you bet," Pascoe said this past week. "It's fun. Evidently, I've still got a lot to learn as far as being an all-around football player, but it's coming fast and I'm picking it up. I don't think our run game has missed a beat."

Pascoe's biggest problem as a fullback might be something that is a benefit at other positions: his size. He is a lanky 6-5, 251 pounds, so he has to concentrate on staying low against linebackers or linemen he's called upon to block. It's something he's gotten more used to in the few weeks at his new position, along with the new angles.

"You've got a little more room for a guy to put a move on you or something like that," Pascoe said. "You have a little more time to size him up, but once you get used to that, it's not much difference. When you make contact, it's not much difference than if you were at the end of the line."

Pascoe has won the hearts of the staff for his "Anything, Coach" attitude. But Hedgecock may be back soon. He was limited in one practice this week and said he is improving, but he did not make the trip to Dallas.

Where will Pascoe fit in when Hedgecock returns? Well, someone else is bound to get injured, and maybe Pascoe will be plugged into that foreign position. Or maybe the Giants will reconsider Pascoe's place and make him a full-time fullback.

"I'm stepping in for Madison," Pascoe said. "I've got that attitude that if this is what they ask for me to do my whole career, I'll do it. I mean, I can do it. I know I can get the job done, and it's something that I'm good at. I have the talent to do it. So we'll do it for the rest of the year if it keeps working."

Notes & quotes: WR Hakeem Nicks, who was listed as questionable with a hamstring injury, started the game for the Giants . . . LB Keith Bulluck missed three games with a turf toe but returned last night as expected . . . Monday was the fifth anniversary of the death of Wellington Mara.